Kuwaiti discount carrier Jazeera Airways has delayed a planned expansion into long-haul flights to focus on extending its existing network to serve the Indian subcontinent.

Jazeera, which has previously been limited to operations within the Middle East, will start operating to Hyderabad in India and Lahore in Pakistan this month before adding Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai later in the fourth quarter, chairman Marwan Boodai said in an interview.

Boodai had said in February that Jazeera aimed to commence inter-continental services this year once it had secured an alliance with a major airline based in Europe or Asia. While that plan remains “alive,” it won’t happen in 2017 after the carrier reset its priorities in light of surging short-haul demand.

“The opportunity for the Indian subcontinent was so overwhelming we had to redirect our resources to that,” the chairman said Monday in Kuwait before unveiling a new livery and interior makeover reflecting a re-branding launched in July. The flights will target the more than 900,000 Indian nationals residing in Kuwait, he said._________________